AOL blocks Microsoft instant messages

CBS.MarketWatch.com

SEATTLE (AP) - The latest battle between Microsoft Corp. and America Online is shaping up over software allowing instantaneous message exchanges. And there's a twist: This time it's Microsoft that's pushing for an industry standard while AOL is trying to maintain its proprietary dominance.

Instant messaging - which is as immediate as a phone conversation - is fast becoming one of the hottest ways to communicate on the Internet.

AOL's version, AIM, is currently provided to the company's 17 million subscribers and also is offered free to other Internet users who can download it from the AOL Web site.

AIM and ICQ (as in "I seek you"), another instant message service AOL bought for $235 million last year, have a combined 80 million users.

Many in the computer industry have asked AOL to make its instant messaging technology an "open standard" which would allow other companies to write software that would interface with the AOL network.

The company
aol
so far has refused, mostly for economic reasons, analysts say.

That allowed any Internet user to get a free Hotmail account and a free AIM account for instant messaging through MSN or AOL.

Unlike AIM, MSN Messenger carries no advertising and has no immediate plans for any, but there is room for ads in the MSN window, said Deanna Sanford, a lead products manager in MSN's marketing division.

In the first day of its release, the software was downloaded by 200,000 users, second only to the 202,000 downloads of Internet Explorer 5.0 on the Web browser's release day, Sanford said.

AOL electronically blocked Microsoft's program but MSN posted a revised version. AOL retaliated with another block on Friday.

Getting through

As of midday Saturday, Sanford said Microsoft's latest revision was getting around the AOL blocks again.

AOL officials did not return messages left at their homes and offices Saturday.

On Thursday, AOL spokeswoman Ann Brackbill said that to determine which AOL users are online, the Microsoft product enters AOL's servers in a way that violates its copyrights and trademarks.

She also noted that Microsoft requires AOL users to enter their screen name and password.

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